Resolution to Grant Faculty Release Time for Service as
Faculty Regent and University Senate Chair
Whereas university/public service is expected of WKU faculty and is an important consideration in
continuance, tenure, and promotion decisions;
Whereas governance is a necessary and vital component of university service for WKU faculty;
Whereas governance at the university level largely falls to the Board of Regents, administrative
councils, and the University Senate;
Whereas the Board of Regents is the governing body of the university and includes in its membership
one individual elected by the faculty (the faculty regent);
Whereas the University Senate is the university body that represents the collective views of the faculty
within the context of a collegial system of university governance and is led by an individual elected by
the faculty (the Senate chair);
Whereas service as faculty regent or Senate chair requires an extraordinary commitment of time, well
beyond that typical of other university-level service for faculty, and the time frame of service exceeds
the usual nine-month faculty contract period;
Whereas for the last decade the faculty member serving as chair of the University Curriculum
Committee deservedly received release time in compensation for the substantial time commitment
entailed by that position;
Be it resolved that the University Senate recommend the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs
grant release time to faculty who serve as faculty regent and Senate chair.
Respectfully submitted for University Senate consideration,
Darlene Applegate
Departmental Representative
Folk Studies and Anthropology
Western Kentucky University
5 October 2011